Liam Martin tells his story of being ranked one of the top 30 figure-skaters in the world before breaking his knee cap at age 21 and having his dreams dashed. He then pivoted into academia but, after receiving the worst teaching evaluations in the department’s history, he pivoted again, this time into remote entrepreneurship. Liam takes us on his business-building journey, that ultimately culminated in the creation of “Time Doctor”, a productivity software that he scaled into a 7-figure remote-first business which now has over 100 staff in 32 countries. He takes us behind the scenes of his company operations and gives detailed tips on remote hiring, building systems and processes, training and running a remote sales team, project management and communication across time zones, detailed marketing and SEO tactics that are working today. He also shares his approach to executive leadership, remote management and building company culture in remote-first companies. Liam then details his personal productivity and time mastery techniques, as well as the way he manages stress and approaches business problems or setbacks. Liam then talks about co-founding “Running Remote”, the world’s largest conference on building and scaling fully remote teams. He discusses who should attend, what to expect, and where/when the next conference is happening. He then talks about his passion for international travel and explains his travel cadence, how he decides on his remote work locations, what travel really means to him at this point in his life, and shares his favorite travel app and the #1 gadget he never travels without. FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE AT www.TheMaverickShow.com
Episode #52: Mastering Productivity, Scaling Remote-First Companies, and Managing Staff in 32 Countries with Liam Martin
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Liam Martin
Liam Martin is a location independent serial entrepreneur, author, podcast host, and co-founder of Time Doctor which has become one of the most popular time tracking and productivity software platforms in use by top brands today. The software was designed to help individuals and organizations dramatically improve productivity and reduce time spent on distractions. Founded in 2012, today Time Doctor is a 7-figure remote-first business with 100 staff working from 32 countries. Liam is also a co-organizer of the world’s largest remote work conference Running Remote an annual event attracting over 500 people from over 40 countries that teach next-level, actionable strategies and tactics to manage and grow your distributed team. The conference is a gathering of business leaders who share what’s working for them in running remote-first organizations and the goal is to provide education and tools that founders & professionals need to succeed in the future of work. Liam’s mission is to empower people to work wherever they want, whenever they want and his writing on the future of remote work have been published in Forbes, Inc., Fast Company, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, the Huffington Post and many other publications.
What You'll Learn
- How to hire, manage and collaborate with a distributed team across 30+ countries
- How to master your time and optimize your productivity
- How and why to build company culture in remote-first companies
Links From the Episode
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TRY LIAM’S “TIME DOCTOR” SOFTWARE FOR A 14 DAY FREE TRIAL
LEARN MORE ABOUT LIAM’S UPCOMING “RUNNING REMOTE” CONFERENCE FOR BUILDING AND SCALING REMOTE TEAMS
(Get a 10% Discount when You Use the Code “MAVERICK”)
#1 BOOK LIAM RECOMMENDS
TRAVEL ITEM THAT LIAM ALWAYS PACKS
WATCH LIAM’S FREE VIDEO COURSE ON HOW TO BUILD AN SEO CONTENT TEAM AND STRATEGY
SOFTWARE THAT LIAM AND HIS TEAM USE
PERSON WITH WHOM LIAM WOULD MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER
LIAM’S FAVORITE TRAVEL APP:
PLACES WHERE INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
- Liam: Ottawa, Canada
- Matt: Irkutsk, Siberia (Crossing Siberia on the Nomad Train)
Join the next Nomad Train and get a discount by entering the Code “MAVERICK”
LIAM’S TOP 3 FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
LIAM’S TOP 3 BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS
OTHER PLACES MENTIONED ON THIS EPISODE
- San Diego, California
- San Francisco, California
- Toronto
- Cairo, Egypt
- Europe
- Bali, Indonesia
- Dublin, Ireland
- Istanbul
- Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
- Boracay, Philippines
- Moscow, Russia
- Bangkok, Thailand
CHECK FLIGHT PRICES TO ANY OF THESE LOCATIONS
CONTACT LIAM AND CHECK OUT TIME DOCTOR
Time Stamped Show Notes
[3:21] Matt and Liam discuss the Nomad Train
[8:11] Liam’s Entrepreneurial Journey
- His dreams of professional figure skating get dashed
- His failed attempt at becoming a University professor
- His transition into location independent entrepreneurship
- Building a tutoring business and identifying a business problem
- Solving his own problem and conceptualizing the “Time Doctor” software
[13:03] Developing the “Time Doctor” Software and Bringing it to Market
- Scratching his own itch in creating the software
- The value that Time Doctor deliverables
- Different ways Time Doctor can be used
[19:40] The “Running Remote” Conference
- The motive for founding the conference
- The first conference in Bali
- The mission of Running Remote
[22:45] Liam’s Vision for The Future of Remote Work
- Liam’s predictions on the future of remote work
- The benefits of remote work for employers
- The benefits of remote work for staff
[25:37] Building and Scaling Remote-First Businesses
- Creating and tightening systems and processes early
- Templates for creating standing operating procedures
- The scaling process from 1 to 10 to 50 to 100+ employees
- Liam’s remote hiring practices
[34:42] Building Company Culture in Remote-First Businesses
- What company culture is
- How to build company culture in remote work environments
[38:31] Team Collaboration Across Time Zones
- Breaking his company into cells by time zone
- Liam’s hierarchy of internal communication
[40:36] Building and Managing Remote Sales Teams
- Liam’s biggest challenges and failures in trying to build a sales team
- Liam’s current sales department model that is working
- Getting the majority of new sales from referrals
[46:22] Liam’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy
- Tactics and tips for an effective SEO campaign
[54:14] The Next Running Remote Conference
- Where and when the next Running Remote conference Is
- The Conference Focus on building and scaling remote teams
- What to expect at the next conference and who it is for
[56:13] The Value of Travel and the Nomadic Lifestyle
- Why Liam travels the world and likes to hang out with other travelers
- Liam’s travel cadence and lifestyle structure
- How Liam chooses his remote work locations
- Techniques for protecting himself from loneliness
[1:02:03] Liam’s Day Structure, Productivity Habits, and Stress Management Techniques
- How Liam structures his day and optimizes his productivity
- Respecting his personal time blocks as much as meetings and appointments
- Tracking his own time using Time Doctor
- The importance of diversification, being multi-dimensional and critical thinking
[1:08:05] THE LIGHTNING ROUND
- Liam’s #1 book recommendation
- The person with whom Liam would most like to have dinner
- The advice Liam would give to his 18-year old self
- Liam’s #1 travel app recommendation
- Liam’s #1 travel gadget
- Liam’s top 3 favorite travel destinations
- Liam’s top 3 bucket list destinations
[1:16:30] CONTACT LIAM
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